Week 35: Practice Makes Perfect in Kindergarten!

Dear Family, We hope you are all doing well! Week 35 was a continuation of last week’s learning, as we revisited and strengthened many of the same concepts across our sessions. It was a wonderful opportunity for our kinders to recap, practice, and grow more confident in what they have been learning. Of course, we’d still love to take you through our week and share how our days unfolded… 

Large Group 

Alongside our usual large group routines, we introduced a new and exciting phonics concept this week; diphthongs! We explained diphthongs in a simple way by saying they are two vowels that come together to make one special sound, like oi in “coin” or ou in “cloud.” Our children enjoyed hearing how the sound changes when the two vowels work as a team. Since they had already learned about digraphs, we also took time to review them. We reminded them that digraphs are two letters that come together to make one sound, like sh, ch, or th. After practicing together, our children each had a turn to come up, read the sounds of different diphthongs and digraphs, and then think of a word that includes them.

“On my first weekend that’s when I got sick and that’s why I didn’t come to school and I stayed at home until I get better. This weekend I played a bit and watched TV and I made a big house and an astronaut. I didn’t go anywhere this weekend.” -Lubono

“With Yemariam I eat pizza and cake and then with Yemariam and with mommy I go church” -Betselot

“I watched TV and at my house I played football with Mekdes. On Friday I do my ballet and ate ice cream and also I went to Nai’s house with Leul and Abigu and we played. On Saturday I went to Sunday church and played hide and seek with Leul there at senbet temrtbet.” -Liyat

“When I was sleeping my cat was copying me from the back and I also saw Solomon’s house. When I eat shiro the cat said give me meow.” -Ismael

“Last time a day before we were doing a graduation song at church with Elliot and we prayed with a TV and then I went home and slept. The last time I was staying at home I was going to eat cereal but I have to eat it in the morning and I also say a bug in my bag and jumped on the table cause I was so scared” -Kian

“On Friday, I went to Nai Nai’s house and played puzzle and we eat firfir and chips. From Meriam’s birthday Abigu brought a gift so we shared. On Saturday we went to church and we drew our hands and they gave us a stamp and we played race. When my aunty told me I wasn’t going to church because we were going to Dibo’s house and I went to my room and locked the door and changed my clothes by myself and she was so shocked” -Leul

“I go with my Betselot and we go to Africa. My mommy said only next time cake so I eat pizza and then Betselot happy Friday” -Yemariam

“The first day in the morning my mommy said I’ll go to a play place and my daddy came and we went to the gas station and we went to the play place and the next day I went somewhere and I eat pizza with Fanta with my dad and then I saw Sara from this school and she cried because she wanted to play on the swing and she told her family to take her out of the place but they didn’t hear her. I drink Fanta two times.” -Yadon

Literacy 

We continued with our “a” and “an” lessons this week and added a new word; “the.” We reminded our children that “a” and “an” are used when we talk about any one thing; like a cat or an apple. Then we introduced “the” as a special word we use when we are talking about one specific thing; like the sun or the book on the table. After practicing together, they came up to the board, looked at picture cards, and wrote the correct article to match each one. They enjoyed thinking about which word fits best and sharing their answers with their friends. Repeating this lesson really helped them understand it better, and we can already see it becoming easier for them to use these words correctly in their everyday learning! 


“It’s like the sun we don’t say a sun because there’s only one sun” -Lubono 

“Also the moon, there’s only one” -Liyat 

“But there are 88 moons in Jupiter so maybe if we go there we say a moon” -Leul 

“And then the space center” -Yemariam 

“The world and the sky” -Kian 

Math 

We continued our number sequence journey this week, focusing on what comes before; and our children were ready for the challenge!

We started by practicing counting backward, which they found both fun and a little tricky at first, but quickly got the hang of it. To make it even more exciting, we took our learning outside to the eating area, where our kinders worked on their worksheets in the fresh air. This change of environment kept them energized and focused as they practiced finding the missing numbers that come before. With each activity, it’s becoming easier for them to understand number patterns and they’re enjoying every step of the journey! 


“This is super easy for me I can even count backwards from 100” -Leul 

“I finish faster than Leul but I make mistake with 5” -Ismael 

“I want to draw the number line at the back because I finish this fast” -Lubono 

“Lubono and Leul finished at the same time and I’m only left with one question” -Liyat 

Science 

Building on our previous lessons about bones and muscles; and even our exploration of worms. We began learning about vertebrates and invertebrates this week. This helped our children connect their understanding of bodies: some animals have bones inside, and some do not. In our first session, we stayed in the classroom and learned that vertebrates are animals with a backbone (like humans, dogs, and birds), while invertebrates are animals without a backbone (like worms, insects, and snails). Our kinders enjoyed sharing examples of animals they already know and figuring out which group they belong to. In our next session, we took the learning outside and made it extra fun and challenging! We placed cut out animal pictures in a pit filled with water, and our children sat around it ready to explore. Using cloth pins, they carefully picked a picture, named the animal, and then decided whether it belongs to vertebrates or invertebrates by placing it in the correct labeled box.


“The turtle that’s in our school is a vertebrate” -Lubono 

“My cousin Tsedi is my favorite vertebrate” -Leul 

“And mine is my dad I love him so much and he has a backbone so he’s vertebrate” -Liyat 

“Ants and spiders are not vertebrates” -Kian 

“I am vertebrate also Betselot” -Yemariam 

“When I see eagle they have backbone” -Ismael

Art 

Getting ready for our upcoming art project, we spent this week practicing word art on chart paper. Our children each chose a positive word they would love to see on their canvas. They carefully wrote their chosen words, then traced over them using paint of their choice. It was a wonderful mix of writing and creativity, and they were so focused and proud of their work. This was a great practice session, and it turned out beautifully! We’re excited to bring these ideas onto canvas next week and see their final masterpieces come to life. 

“I want to write bright” -Kian

“I want to write play” -Yadon

“Me I’m going to write sorry” -Lubono

“I want to write awesome because we’re awesome” -Leul

“And I’m gonna write shineeee” -Liyat

“Me Heart” -Betselot

“I want sunny” -Yemariam

“I want write happy” -Ismael

Next week’s schedule:

Monday – Math, Literacy

Tuesday – Literacy, Science

Wednesday -Library, Math 

Thursday - Science, Music

Friday - Library 

Specials:

Monday- Art

Tuesday - Gym

Thursday - Ethiopian center/ clay

Reminders and notes:

• Please make sure that our children are wearing suitable clothes on Monday as we have art class and activities get messy sometimes.

• Every Wednesday and Friday is library day. Our children will be bringing home a book of their choice in their library folder, so please make sure to read the book with them over the weekend. Please return the folder the following Wednesday so they can get a new one.
• Every Tuesday, we have gymnastics, so please ensure that our children come dressed in comfortable and loose fitting sports attire to facilitate their exercise.

• Every Friday, we have football, so please make sure our children wear their football jerseys if they have them, or any comfortable shorts.




Another week of practice and progress! See you next week!